It's often said that the key to a good relationship is communication! And the world of work is no exception to the rule. But to communicate well, you need to know how to listen. Listen to yourself, listen to others.... It's quite an art, and you have to learn it! Our health and well-being experts talk about the different forms of listening at work, and how to master them to perfection.

Listening to employees: the key to a good QWL

The first, and most obvious, is to listen to your employees, which is essential for ensuring well-being within the company. One of our experts, Raynald Faure, executive and manager coach, shares his best practices with us!

"Good internal organization in a company requires good communication and openness on the part of management towards employees.

1 in 2 executives lack recognition and don't feel listened to(Alan X Harris Interactive Barometer, October 2022), which is huge!

In fact, employees who feel listened to by their superiors perform better and are more committed to their work. They are also less prone to burnout. Listening to your employees gives them a sense of security and integration, enabling them to better overcome difficulties."

Her practical advice for listening to your employees:

• Showempathy, try to understand the other person's feelings and concerns
• Avoid cutting him off: interrupting means you're not interested in what he's saying.
• Ask clarifying questions: this shows that you are involved in the conversation.
• Rephrase and summarize: this makes sure you understand each other.
• Be patient: people need time to express themselves, so give them a chance to finish their sentences.
• The more you practice these principles, the more effective you'll become as alistener!

Listening to yourself at work

We often think about listening to others, but much less often about listening to ourselves! Yet this is the key to most problems. Listening to your needs and emotions is essential at work! And our expert Amandine Caulle, clinical psychologist, won't tell us otherwise.

According to her, "we need to remember that all our emotions are entirely understandable and legitimate, firstly by ourselves and then by others. That they are the result of our life history, our personality and our needs. All emotions are positive, in the sense that they should guide our behavior. For example, if I feel angry, it may be because I don't feel respected: so I'm going to reframe certain professional demands (too onerous, in which I'm not competent, etc.)".

"To improve your self-awareness, we recommend several steps.

• Identifying emotions: in this difficult situation, what am I feeling?
• Physical sensations: When I close my eyes, where do I feel it in my body?
• Acceptance: then I accept the part of me that's frustrated, angry, sad, powerless, etc. And I leave it there until the emotion and feeling subside. And I leave it there for as long as necessary until the emotion and sensation subside.
• Solution: I always keep my eyes closed and ask myself what could help me in this context: Talk to the person? Seek advice from a third party? Take a step back and move to another room when it's too difficult?

Finally, think about non-violent communication if you need to talk about a situation that's causing you problems!"

Listening to colleagues

The world of work is not just about hierarchy. There are also all those people with whom we spend our days, our lunch breaks, with whom we sometimes talk about our doubts and our personal lives. And these colleagues also have their share of emotions and problems. Knowing how to listen to them properly can help them enormously, and improve the quality of life for the whole company.

According to Sophie Anderlini, professional coach and trainer, the key lies in being open to the perception of the other person: "If you understand that your reality is different from that of the other person, you can avoid many conflicts. Making the distinction between your internal world and that of the other, the difference between facts and opinions, is, in my opinion, one of the foundations of team communication. And the main tool for this isactive listening: opening up to the other person's reality and asking questions to understand it. Only then can a constructive exchange begin (because understanding doesn't mean agreeing)."

Moha's little plus for listening to others:

At Moha, we always include open-ended questions in our exchanges! Instead of "How are you?", we'll always say "How are you, really?". Similarly, when we're working together on a project, you can be sure to hear "What do you think?". We give the floor to others, and this seemingly insignificant difference changes everything in social relations!

And to really express ourselves, we organize a weekly WeekMood to share our mood with our colleagues! A meeting that's well integrated into our corporate culture, allowing us to find out what our colleagues are going through or feeling, so that we can be there for them if need be.

Listening is at the heart of our work!

Finally, listening in the workplace has a major impact on the health of individuals, and on the quality of life within the company. Our experts all agree that it is indispensable, in all its forms!

And that's what we believe is essential at Moha: listening to our customers, so we can better support them. Listening and exchange are always at the heart of our QVCT support, throughout the entire process.

We're listening to you: we'll make an appointment to talk about your needs?